My nephew came to visit me this weekend. We had an awesome weekend filled with non-stop action and fun. I love being around that kid because he showers me with genuine love and affection, and serves as a constant reminder that no matter how bad life gets, it could always be worse (and even still, he’d be smiling). He’s one of those rare kids that actually appreciates the little things in life, like sitting around playing cards or going for walks or just chatting quietly about whatever. One of those that you look up to because you realize that even as an adult, you don’t quite have the hold on life that he seems to grasp. And other people can see it, too, because everywhere we go, he seems to bring out the best in everyone around him.
On the other hand, hanging out with my nephew also tends to bring about a deluge of some very different emotions in me: like anger, sadness, and resentment. Sadness because I know how much it must hurt him to see kids running around and doing all kinds of things he’ll probably never do. Resentment because I wonder how someone so pure, so innocent, could have been dealt such a crappy hand. And anger, because going anywhere with a child in a wheelchair is the perfect opportunity to highlight the stupidity in stupid people.
Please allow me to acknowledge them now.
People who point/stare or do not check their kids for pointing/staring. Some of the worst beatings I can remember were for just that. And I’m thankful for parents who understood the necessity to break these habits in me. People act like my nephew can’t see them staring at him just because he’s in a wheelchair. He’s handicapped, morons, not blind. One time, this little girl came up and just stood right next to our table at a restaurant and just stared for like 5 minutes. Her parents didn’t even say anything to her, either. When she ran back to her table and slipped on some soda (that I had just spilled – oh, sweet irony) and fell on her butt and started crying, I chuckled quietly and wondered if I had actually willed that to happen. Teach your kids some manners, folks.
People who talk to 9-year old kids like their babies just because they’re in a wheelchair. I think this is my nephew’s least favorite stupid. Don’t you think he feels infantile enough that he can’t go to the bathroom on his own or bathe himself? Don’t you think someone who gets carried everywhere he goes already feels belittled? Now you want to talk down to him and make him feel even smaller because you don’t understand that physical disabilities are not the same as mental ones? And even if he did have a mental disability, he’s 9 freakin’ years old!! If I could bottle up the face he gives people who talk down to him, and market it and put it on a t-shirt, it would take the place of the middle finger as the international symbol for “F^@& YOU @$$hole”.
People who call physically disabled people “RETARDED”. Just typing that word increases my heart rate (not even exaggerating). I once had someone argue the point with me that “retarded” was the medically correct term for it. Really??? Mental retardation is my nephew’s diagnosis?? All this time I thought he had a physical disability, and you, with your bachelor’s degree have managed to prove nine years of doctors wrong. Thanks for clearing that up. Now that I know that’s the universal word for any type of disability, I’ll keep that in mind when you’re pointing, staring, and talking like a baby to my nephew; I shouldn’t be offended because you might just be “retarded.”
People who park in handicapped spots, and then walk perfectly able-bodied into a building. I don’t care whose car you’re driving, or what jack@$$ doctor actually signed the forms for you to park in the handicapped spot. I actually have a WHEELCHAIR to unload, which is what the handicapped spots are for in the first place. Every time I see somebody’s grandmother struggling in her walker from the back row while they park in the handicapped “just to run in real quick”, I want to Me, Myself, & Irene-style take a trashcan and slam it into their windshield. There are times when I can’t even take my nephew somewhere because there’s no place to unload his wheelchair. Once, I even had to unload it at the front of the mall, leave it there, and then park far away and carry him to the chair. All because of stupid people. And “running in real quick” is not an excuse to park in the handicapped spot, either. The fact that you have the ability to “run in real quick” negates the whole disabled thing. Take the extra 10 seconds and stop being a lazy @$$.
I may or may not be talking about you. If I am, good. Because the purpose of this entry is that I know not everyone is blessed with the opportunity to know someone that makes them think about things differently, and so I wanted to spread the wealth.
Have more compassion and education regarding people with disabilities. It could save you from a lot of bad karma. Just remember – when we take for granted the basic human rights that God has blessed us with, He will take them away. And I promise, your abilities mean more to you than you know.
Don’t be stupid.
